Within These Walls

Chapter One

Chapter One

A bright light flashed around the dimmed room, briefly illuminating the messy bedroom Louis Stan sat silently in. Clothes lay strewn across the floor without a care in the world, even though a perfectly good hamper sat next to the door. Used plates, bowls, and cups were scattered across the varying pieces of furniture along with empty packets of snack foods accumulating in piles throughout the room.

"What the hell was that?" Louis asked, letting the book he was reading fall down onto his stomach.

His eyes darted to the door where the light had come, and even though he could only see the silhouette of the person standing in the doorframe, he knew who it was.

The light spilling around the figure showcased the height and broad shoulders of Isaac Maine.

The annoyance Louis had felt simmered down now he knew who had decided to flash a blinding light around his perfectly darkened room.

A chuckle slipped from Isaac's lips as he lowered the polaroid camera, taking the photo which had been printed from it and shaking it gentle in front of him.

"I almost threw my book at you," Louis muttered, letting the novel he was reading rest on his chest as he watched Isaac move slowly toward him. "I still might if you don't rip that photo up."

"And why would I want to rip it up?" Isaac said softly, coming to a stop beside Louis' bed and gently sitting down, letting the mattress sink under his weight. "I was actually thinking of hanging it on my wall."

"I would knock you out if you out if you did that."

Louis gently kicked his leg out to knock Isaac on the back, who swayed at the impact. The dim light within the room coming from the bedside lamp illuminated the gentle smile caressing Isaac's face.

The wave of calm and happiness which came along with Isaac's presence was something Louis had been missing over the past few days.

It had been a little over a week since Louise had attended his Aunt Monica's funeral and said goodbye the last of his family.

In that time, his mind had been nothing but a whirlwind of different thoughts. The main ones all being about his future and how he was going to manage.

He hadn't thought the loss of his aunt would weigh so heavily on his mind. She had been his family, yes, but there was always a distance between them. Ever since his parents had passed away and his aunt had taken him in, she had barely been able to look at him or even talk to him.

He knew it was because he had reminded her of his mother. Her sister. Louis wasn't that the only one that seemingly lost everything on the night his parents died, and while there had been a slither of hope he and his aunt would be able to find comfort with each other, it was discarded without a second thought.

Instead of turning to him, she turned to alcohol. To drugs. Coping by trying to forget everything and everyone—including herself. No matter what Louis tried, he could never break through to her. Everything he did seemed to fall short.

Then the worst happened.

When a hint of light entered Louis life in the shape of Isaac, it retreated again as his aunt's body was carefully caressed by a casket. Whisked away to be with his parents and leaving him in the dark again.

Louis knew he wasn't truly alone, though. He knew there was still light around him, but some days it felt as though no matter how hard he tried, he still lost sight of it.

Louis' best friend Sam and his family did their best to help, and it was more than Louis could ever repay them for. They had set him up a room within their house for him to stay, refusing to let him go back to the apartment where the tragedy of his aunt had happened. They were doing everything they could to make Louis feel better, even if it was only the slightest bit.

Most of the time it meant leaving Louis to be on his own. Letting him deal with everything the only way he knew how.

Shut down.

He knew it wasn't healthy, but he didn't know what else to do. He tried to open up and to talk about everything that happened, but he always faltered. To his other best friends Kara and Sarah and even to his boyfriend Isaac.

In fact, Louis hadn't been able to bring himself to do a lot of things. The week leading up to his aunt's funeral and now the week after, he hadn't gone to school or work. He'd barely even left the house.

He had no desire to go anywhere or see anyone. The last effort he had made was to visit his parent's graves with Isaac the day after his aunt's funeral. He had thought doing that and letting Isaac in even more would help him. Encourage him to open up and face the world with Isaac and his friends by his side.

Yet, here he was. Stashed away in a room that wasn't his own, reading in the near darkness trying to hide from what awaited him outside. The reality of what his life was.

He wasn't ready to face it. Even with Isaac at his side.

"You would knock me out?" Isaac asked softly, and Louis felt his hand slide onto his calm and his thumb gently trace over it. "You may have the height advantage, but I have the weight."

"Are you calling yourself fat?" Louis asked innocently, lifting his book of his chest and closing it before placing it on his bedside table.

"Muscle, Lou-Lou. It's called muscle."

Louis smiled in the dim light, keeping his eyes trained on Isaac as his boyfriend shuffled a little further up the mattress letting Louis get a better look at the face he had missed.

Isaac's hazel eyes were soft and swimming with a golden shine, and the gentle grin on his face enveloped them in warmth. His brown hair hung effortless over his forehead as he propped himself forward slightly and gently bit his bottom lip, causing his sharp jawline to sharpen even more.

"I've missed you," he muttered, shifting his weight on the mattress yet again, though continuing to trace Louis' calf with his thumb. "Sorry I haven't been in a couple of days."

"That's okay," Louis whispered back, reaching out his own hand to grasp Isaac's free one. "I missed you, too."

While Louis had withdrawn himself from the world around him, he had made a promise to himself to at least let Isaac slide through his walls more often than others. So, not having the chance to see him over the previous few days did weigh on Louis.

Of course, he relished in the quiet and being alone—as he always had—but there was something about Isaac that was different to everyone else.

Compared to his years of friendship with Sam and his other best friend Kara—who had to fly back to the other side of the country after Louis' aunt's funeral—he and Isaac had only been dating for close to two months, yet Louis couldn't help but describe being with Isaac like being home.

The comfort of his company and warmth of his embrace was something he hoped he never go unfamiliar with. Though, sadly, with the circumstances of both their lives, being within that embrace was proving more difficult than either of them wanted.

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A/N: It has been a very long time coming, but here we are. The sequel to 'If Walls Could Talk'.

This... this is going to be a journey. That is all I can say. I will apologise in advance for the possible tears.

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